Should minor hockey associations force hockey parents to take a course to brush up on their manners?

Here's to a resounding yes.

That's right - I'm supporting more intervention in your lives!

For most parents, the ones who want their kids to learn to understand the camaraderie of a team sport, the joy of winning, the sadness of losing - and get some exercise in the process - none of this will be a big deal.

They understand everyone needs to be on the same page.

But unfortunately, there are a handful of parents who just won't see it that way.

Can't you just hear the shrieks of horror?

But that shriek is nothing compared to the horrendous yells, screams and verbal and physical threats that a very small minority of hockey parents apparently believe is acceptable behaviour at their kids' hockey games.

And again I stress: This is a minority of hockey parents.

"Yes, we've got some crazy parents, they're not that bad, we just shake our heads," said Greg Clarke, who's been on the Nepean Minor Hockey Association's board of directors for a number of years, including a stint as the head of its competitive division.

"There are those parents who will argue their kid didn't get credit for a goal, and they'll harangue about how poor the administration is, who'll complain why the refs just can't get it right, when those kids are a couple of 16-year-olds.

"Then there are those parents who want retribution then their child is injured. Hockey is a contact game, unfortunately, injuries occur, but the reaction of the parent is to demand a parliamentary inquiry, a royal commission on to why their son is injured and why other player hasn't been drawn and quartered," Clarke told the Sun on Thursday.

"It's supposed to be a game for kids, not for frustrated parents."

In the world of minor hockey, any volunteer who has contact with the players must take a course called Respect in Sport.

To date, the parents have not been required to take the course.

But there's a movement afoot to change that.

The Ontario Minor Hockey Association (which is not the governing body for minor hockey in Eastern Ontario) recently announced that beginning next season, all parents who have a child playing in their league will be required to complete the course -- and pay for it themselves.

And it's only a matter of time before the rule is adopted by the Ottawa District Hockey Association -- which has discussed the issue, but is so far taking a wait-and-see approach.

Craig Shouldice, a senior volunteer in the eastern district, recalls having seen an elderly man with an oxygen tank sitting in the stands, presumably watching one of his grandchildren. A call by the ref upset him so much he threw a water bottle onto the ice in the hope of hitting the official.

"There's probably 95% are just good people who aren't going to misbehave, it's the 5% who are verbally abusive of officials, or they yell at the kids," Shouldice said.

"There's always the extreme, you get people making inappropriate phone call to other parent's people complaining about the line their son is on or they sit in the stands and scream and yell at the refs, yelling that they shouldn't be reffing. Look, that's someone's kid out there."

So yes, telling parents they need to take a course to remind them of the obvious is a good thing.

Will it solve all the problems?

No.

Will it change bullies into good hockey parents?

Probably not.

But it will serve as a reminder.

If you can spend a few hours toward making the game better for your child, why wouldn't you?

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